“If it was not for you, my children would not have had Christmas this year.”

“Thanks to everyone at the shop, my two boys will have a happy Christmas. This brings tears to my eyes knowing they’ll wake up with big smiles that morning.”

“I wasn’t able to get my kids gift this year due to my layoff. I really appreciate it.”

These thank-you notes sent after the 2013 gift giveaway are an indication of just how grateful thousands of metro-area families are for an organization called the Denver Santa Claus Shop.

The all-volunteer, nondenominational, 501(c)(3) nonprofit collected enough toys to make the holiday special for 16,000 children in 2013. The number — and the need for donations — is expected to increase this year.

Established 84 years ago, the Denver Santa Claus Shop provides toys to youngsters up to age 12 whose parents are referred by social service groups, schools, shelters and churches. It is believed to be the longest-running charity of its type in the United States and has served 1 million kids since its start.

Santa Claus and a young donor with Sherri Koelbel and Thierry Kennel, general manager of the Four Seasons Denver.

Each parent receives a 100-point gift certificate for each child that they can use to select toys they know their children will like. The donated toys are “valued” on a point system, so parents can select, for example, one big-ticket item or several smaller ones.

The giveaway is conducted over a four-day period in donated space. The address is only given to volunteers and qualified parents.

The 2014 donation drive was launched with a reception held at the Four Seasons Hotel Denver. There, general manager Thierry Kennel joined Sherri Koelbel in welcoming donors and showing off the sleigh-shaped collection bin that will remain at the hotel until the four-day giveaway begins.

Project Angel Heart served its 4 millionth meal today. It was lasagne, prepared by executive chef Jon Emanuel in honor of the very first entree that the nonprofit organization dished out to a handful of clients 20 years ago.

Performers from Colorado Ballet‘s production of “The Nutcracker” were on hand to help Emanuel present the commemorative meal to Rita, who has been a Project Angel Heart client sincce being diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia a year ago. Rita was accompanied by her son, Gabriel, and granddaughter, Lettie.

Project Angel Heart cooks prepare nutritious meals for nearly 800 Coloradans weekly who are coping with life-threatening illness. Each freshly prepared meal is home-delivered by a network of volunteers, at no cost, in an effort to improve the quality of life for individuals whose health situation leaves them unable to access or prepare meals themselves.

GROUPS HELP SPREAD HOLIDAY CHEER

* On Saturday, Delta Eta Boule of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity hosts its first Toys For Tots Christmas Celebration at the Hiawatha Davis Recreation Center, 3334 Holly St. Hours are noon to 4 p.m. and members are prepared to distribute 2,500 toys to children, up to age 13, from low-income families.

“It’s important to remember our neighbors who have felt the impact of a struggling economy during this time of year,” says event organizer Scott Mitchell, the president of Delta Eta Boule. “Every child deserves a Christmas, and the members of Delta Eta Boule are proud to partner with the U.S. Marine Corps Toys For Tots program to bring them one that they will hopefully remember.”

In addition to receiving toys, the children will have the opportunity to visit with Santa Claus, learn to make holiday crafts and much more. “We look forward to seeing the smiles on the children’s faces that day, as that will be a priceless gift for our entire organization,” Mitchell adds.

* Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic has enlisted some of his musical colleagues to participate in the Dec. 22 Denver Acoustic Christmas: A Concert for Charity, at the Ogden Theatre. Isaac Slade and Joe King from the Fray, plus Matt Morris and members of Bop Skizzum, the Flobots and OneRepublic will be on stage to raise money for The Denver Santa Claus Shop, Children’s Hospital Colorado and Food Bank of the Rockies.

Doors open at 6 p.m. and the music starts an hour later. A toy drive will be conducted outside the Ogden before the show. Tickets are $39.50 for general admission and $150 for VIP, which includes a meet-and-greet cocktail party with OneRepublic after the concert. For tickets, visit Axs.com.

* Arc Thrift Stores and Big O Tires have teamed up for the fifth annual Treads for Threads Clothing Drive, and donations of warm winter clothing and outerwear can be dropped off at any of the 33 Big O Tires locations along the Front Range through the end of December. The donations will be distributed by Arc Thrift Stores and Volunteers of America on Jan. 16, which is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

* Eleven employees, former employees and friends of CoBiz Financial has made 48 blankets for Project Linus, a 16-year-old national organization that began in Parker. As cartoonist Charles Schulz’s Linus character from the PEANUTS® comic strip was comforted by his blanket, Project Linus strives to do the same and more for children who are seriously ill, traumatized or otherwise in need. They utilize volunteer “blanketeers,” such as CoBiz Financial’s employee group.

* Southwest Airlines has partnered with Concerts for Kids to sponsor a holiday toy and sock drive that benefits Sun Valley Youth Center and Volunteers of America. Anyone bringing an unwrapped toy or a new pair of socks to the airline-sponsored ice skating rink at 16th and Arapahoe in downtown Denver this month will receive a free skate rental. A representative from Concerts for Kids will visit the rink daily to collect the donations and wrap the toys for distribution at the youth center. The socks go to clients served by Volunteers of America. The goal is to collect 4,000 items. To learn more about rink hours and its entertainment offerings, visit southwestRink.com